In 2008, NYS provided grant funds to encourage counties to study how to streamline their local assessment programs to promote efficiency, equity and transparency for taxpayers. Orleans County officials initiated a study as part of a continued effort to streamline assessment operations and create a more efficient system. The small, rural county has limited resources and prior to the study had taken numerous steps to encourage coordinated assessment programs in order to enhance efficiency. In addition, at the time of the study, the County was planning to implement a centralized countywide assessment database to further enhance transparency and improve county-level communication and analysis.